Penn Vet Study Reveals Salmonella’s Hideout Strategy

The body’s innate immune system is a first line of defense, intent on sensing invading pathogens and wiping them out before they can cause harm. It should not be surprising then that bacteria have evolved many ways to specifically evade and overcome this sentry system in order to spread infection.

A study led by researchers in the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine now reveals how some Salmonella bacteria hide from the immune system, allowing them to persist and cause systemic infection. The findings could help researchers craft a more effective vaccine against Salmonella.

Igor Brodsky, an assistant professor in Penn Vet’s Department of Pathobiology, was senior author on the paper, which was published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. Co-authors included Penn Vet postdoctoral associates Meghan A. Wynosky-Dolfi and Patrick J. Doonan, Ph.D. students Naomi H. Philip, Erin E. Zwack and Amber M. Riblett and department colleague Bruce D. Freedman. The Penn researchers collaborated with Till Strowig and Richard A. Flavell of Yale University School of Medicine and Maya C. Poffenberger, Daina Avizonis and Russell G. Jones of McGill University.